A 20-year-old man who has irreversible brain damage after a heel pin prick test as a baby under the national newborn screening programme was incorrectly reported as normal has settled a High Court action for €14.5million.
His counsel Pearse Sreenan SC told the High Court the pin prick test taken in the days after birth was reported back as normal when it was not, and by the time the real diagnosis of a metabolic disorder was made two years later, it was too late.
The baby’s mother, concerned her son was missing all his milestones, had gone to doctors 38 times in the first two years of his life before more tests were done, and a correct diagnosis was made.
Counsel said if the condition had been diagnosed when the baby first had the test in 2004, the appropriate treatment would have been a specific diet for life, but when it is not picked up, it causes irreversible cognitive impairment. The young man, he said, now requires 24-hour care.
Mr Justice Paul Coffey, who directed that the boy or his condition not be identified, praised his family for their commitment and the love lavished on their son.
The judge, who described it as a “ a tragic and heartbreaking” case, expressed profound sympathy to the family and said if “ so simple a test were performed correctly the boy and his family would have been spared all this.”
Outside court, the family solicitor Melanie Power, said it had been a ten-year legal battle for the family and at long last he can now avail of the supports that has been out of his reach up to now.
She said with each week that passed from birth, as his condition went undiagnosed, the diet the baby boy was consuming caused irreparably neurological injury.
“Something as wholesome as a baby’s milk bottle caused toxins to build up resulting in permanent injury,” she said.
At one stage during their long legal struggle, she said the family became homeless as the litigation battle continued and had to rely on the charity of other family members.
Ms Power said the mother has been lauded by experts involved in the case for her herculean efforts in looking after him,refusing full-time residential care when it was offered so that he can be around his supportive family.
The man, she said has only known hardship and struggle and his mother’s pleas for a house from the local authority went unanswered and they were ” ignored by the State when our client became homeless during this litigation, relying on the charity of family to assist.”
The boy’s family had sued Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) Temple Street, Dublin, which was responsible for the diagnostic testing of the boy’s blood sample under the National Newborn Blood Spot Screening Programme and the HSE.
Mr Sreenan, instructed by Melanie Power solicitor, told the court liability was admitted in the case but causation remained an issue.
In an apology read to the court, CHI interim chief executive Fiona Murphy on behalf of CHI Temple Street and its staff expressed sincere apologies “ for the failings that caused the injuries “ to the boy.
It added: “ The hospital and its staff regret the tragic consequences for him and his family we do not underestimate the impact this has had on his life.”
In the proceedings, it was claimed there was a failure to properly test the baby’s heel pin prick sample and a failure to manage the national screening laboratory to an appropriate standard..
It was further claimed there was a failure to properly diagnose the baby’s condition in a timely fashion and there was poor analytical performance in the operation of the screening programme and that the mother had been wrongly informed that the baby did not have the metabolic condition.
Ms Power outside court said the young man has little understanding of his own limitations or awareness of his surroundings. He will never be able to work and live independently, and he struggles to communicate with those unfamiliar to him.
“He is surrounded by a loving family unit, and he now can have a roof over his head, be kept secure in a home with therapies around him to keep him comfortable . He will never life a normal life and no amount of money can compensate for the life he has lost,” she added.
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